PESHAWAR (Kamran Ali Shah): Significant progress has been reported in the Kohistan corruption scandal as the main contractor, Muhammad Ayub, has entered into a plea bargain worth Rs 4 billion with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
According to NAB sources, the accused has already signed the necessary legal documents to surrender all his assets to the state. As part of the ongoing investigation, authorities had previously frozen all properties belonging to Ayub. Investigations further revealed that the contractor had purchased a 10-kanal residence in Abbottabad from PTI leader Azam Swati for a staggering Rs 550 million; consequently, NAB has also frozen the bungalow formerly owned by Swati.
The crackdown has extended to other figures involved in the scam, with dumper drivers Mumtaz and Riaz also securing plea bargains following official approval. While the wife of the primary accused, Qaiser Iqbal, has been released on bail, the scale of the investigation continues to grow, with 36 suspects currently in custody. NAB sources confirmed that Muhammad Ayub will be produced in court shortly to finalise the proceedings regarding the recovery of the misappropriated funds.
